


I Do it For You

by LucindaAM



Series: Write For Me [25]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fluff too (at the end), Heavy on the angst, Light Swearing, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 23:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29616813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucindaAM/pseuds/LucindaAM
Summary: It's a simple trade. Bucky's life for yours. He doesn't hesitate to make it. You might not know how he feels, but it doesn't matter. He'd do anything to keep you safe. Anything.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Series: Write For Me [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997872
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53





	I Do it For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mrsxfredweasley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrsxfredweasley/gifts).



> Based on this prompt: "reader is new to the avengers, she is quiet, doesnt talk much. she can be a shield agent, or a witch, whatever lol. Bucky has liked her since the minute he saw her, but he thinks hes no good. anywhozle. He gets hurt on a mission and she wont leave his bedside until he wakes up, and he asks her why she stayed when he does and she says something like 'i didnt want you to be alone. i wanted someone who cared about you here when you woke up'."

Bucky swallowed hard, his hand dropping to his side, the distinct sound of a dial tone echoing around him like some sort of death chime. His fingers curled around the plastic painfully, but he resisted the urge to completely shatter it. He needed it. He needed it for another few minutes. 

Behind him, he could hear the roar of laughter as the rest of the team continued playing Pirts Poker. It was a dumb game Natasha and Clint had invented awhile ago as a way to make the new recruits feel at home. Every time you lost a hand, you put another piece of clothing _on._ The opposite of strip poker and a lot more fun to boot. Tony had bought an entire costume shop out once upon a time and Bucky knew if he walked back in there, there would be an eclectic assortment of Sir Robin hood of the superman pirates and Queen princess of the fairy witches. It had taken him a long time to feel comfortable playing anything with the team, but now that he was, a part of him wanted to go back in and sit beside you and forget his phone call had ever happened. 

But that wasn’t possible. Not right now. 

His eyes darted around the corner and he could just barely glimpse you. Your cheeks were rose colored and you kept your head bent towards the table. The plastic fireman’s helmet on your head completely blocked your eyes, but Bucky could picture them well enough anyway. They haunted his dreams often enough. The good ones, and on some dark nights, even the bad ones. Angel wings were stuck to your back, the white elastic stretched over the full body scoobydoo onesie you’d put on after losing the first round. A chef’s apron with the words “kiss the cook or talk to the hand” was tied around your waist. You’d never looked more beautiful. Then again, he thought that every time he’d seen you. 

He could still remember the first time he saw you. You had just arrived to the tower and looked positively terrified. Fury had his hand on your shoulder as he escorted you into the room. You’d flinched away from his touch, but you somehow managed to stand firm. Bucky could see the courage in you then. That was all it had taken for him to fall for you. Not that he’d ever acted on it. He’d realized almost immediately that you were a light in his darkness and he could never risk infecting you with it. He wasn’t worthy of you. Something told him he never had been. 

With great reluctance, Bucky turned his attention away from you and back to the phone in his hands. He might not be worthy enough to have you, but he’d be damned before someone hurt you. That much, he knew. So it wasn’t hard to answer the phone when it rang again. “If you still want the bitch to live, you’ll go to the address we just texted. No guns. No cops. No _Avengers._ We see anyone else and the next time the pretty lady wants a cup of coffee from the shop down the street, she’s gonna get a little more _lead_ than she bargained for.” 

The caller hung up immediately and Bucky glanced at his phone as an address was sent through. His jaw ticked and he couldn’t help it as his gaze swung up and he stared at you one last time just as you attempted to fix Bunny ears to the top of your fire helmet. Your cheeks were almost lobster red now, you were blushing so hard, but there was a peace in your eyes that had only just recently manifested. How could he take that away from you now? 

This time, Bucky couldn’t help himself as his fingers squeezed his phone to death. The shards of plastic and metal sprinkled to the ground through open fingers and rained to the floor. He stared at them unseeingly, his mind made up. 

They wanted a life for a life? 

He’d give them his. 

It wasn’t worth anything else anyway. 

Bucky turned his back on the team and walked away. Nothing felt more right. 

The vision took you quickly, as they always did. Your small, panicked inhale of air the only warning the team got before your body went rigid and your eyes flashed white. Steve was by your side in a second, keeping his steady hands wrapped around your arms, keeping you upright while the team waited. Your visions were always a mixed bag. You’d been working with Tony and Shuri, when she was available, to try and figure out a way to hone your powers more accurately, but so far, very little had worked. Sometimes your visions were good, most of the time they were bad. The team never knew which until you snapped out of it. 

This one was faster than usual. It only took seconds for you to snap back to reality, but when you did, you lunged for Steve, gripping his shirt in both your hands as you stared up at him desperately. “He’s walking into a trap!” You cried. 

Steve frowned, trying to keep up with your rapid words. “Who is? What’s happening?” 

“Bucky! There’s a trap. I saw a park? There were ducks in the pond. I saw the tower in the background.” 

Your brow furrowed and you squeezed your eyes shut, desperately trying to remember all the hazy details. You couldn’t forget the image of Bucky lying in a pool of his own blood as he turned his dying gaze to the tower with a small smile on his face. “It was . . . there was . . . your eyes honed in on the memory of the bridge Sam and you had walked on just last week when you’d gotten overwhelmed again and had needed to get out of the house. “The bridge! Samuel! The beautiful bridge!” Your eyes snapped open and you scrambled towards him. 

Sam was already on his feet, the rest of the team not far behind. “Central Park. I know where.” 

“Suit up!” Steve ordered. 

Five minutes later, the team was on the quinjet, racing to stop the inevitable. 

Your hands were buried in your lap as you picked at your nails, a nervous habit you’d never been able to give up. It had gotten worse recently. Ever since you’d been shanghaied into joining the Avengers, your poor nerves had been completely shot. It was no wonder your fingers were bloody messes. 

Sam sighed and reached over, taking one of your hands in his and glared pointedly at the other until you slowly reached it under your thigh, keeping it from view. “You don’t need to hurt yourself.” He said softly, leaning down to press a kiss against your abused hand. “He’ll be okay.” 

You shook your head, tears in your eyes as you looked at him. “What if I never get the chance to tell him?” 

Sam smiled at you sadly. He wasn’t going to lie. When you’d first arrived, there was a part of him that had pictured the two of you together but you had never been good at keeping your emotions close to the chest. Everyone knew you had feelings for the broody supersoldier. Sam had become content with his role as your best friend. It’s what gave him enough compassion to wrap you in his arms and press a kiss to the top of your head. “You _will.”_ He promised. “I’ll drag him kicking and screaming back from the gates of hell if that’s what it takes.” 

You startled enough at that to choke out a laugh. “Not the gates of Heaven?” You asked. 

Sam snorted. “That bastard ain’t getting anywhere _near_ the pearly gates, sweetheart. He’s too much of a dick.” 

You laughed again but the beautiful sound of it is drowned out when Steve shouts from the cockpit. “We’ve got bogies!” 

You stay back in the jet while everyone else rushes forward. It’s frustrating that you can’t do more, but you haven’t mastered hand-to-hand or any of the plethora of weapons the various Avengers have started training you on enough to be in the field. The reason you’re here at all is because you refused to let the quinjet leave without you. Not this time. _Bucky’s_ life was on the line this time. You couldn’t imagine staying back at the tower, unsure if this was one of your visions that would come true or not. You couldn’t do it. 

The truth was, you’d fallen for the silent soldier only a week into your stay at the tower. He had hardly spoken two words to you the entire time, but you could sense him at your back whenever you left your room. He was your silent shadow. Perhaps someone else would have been afraid, but you never had been. There was something about the way he watched you that made you feel safe. Like nothing could ever hurt you. Not while he was around, anyway. You loved it. You loved _him._ The sight of him bleeding out . . . 

No. He was going to be okay. 

“Incoming!” Steve and Sam raced onto the jet as you dove out of the way. Bucky’s bleeding body was carried between them. His eyes were closed and his breathing didn’t sound right. You collapsed into one of the seats and you prayed, you prayed like you never had before. You loved your dark knight. You couldn’t lose him. It would break you into a thousand pieces. 

Sam’s hands were sure as he started working on Bucky’s unconscious body. Steve’s head shot up and his eyes drilled into yours. For a second, nothing else existed but the two of you and the pain you shared. “Thank you for finding him.” You mouthed. 

A flash of pain shot through his eyes. “No, thank you.” Sam was frantically working to stem the bleeding long enough for Bucky’s healing to kick in but Steve wasn’t stupid. If you hadn’t seen that vision, there was a very good chance Bucky would have bled out before anyone had found him. Steve owed you. 

You didn’t seem to notice as your eyes turned back to Bucky. 

They stayed glued to his form the entire flight home. 

The soft sounds of a broken heart brought Bucky back. His eyes fluttered open and he glanced around the all-too familiar room with a sigh. It took him another minute or two before he remembered what exactly had happened to land him here in the first place. 

Then he shot up in bed. 

You were in danger. 

You’d been threatened! 

He had to . . . 

His frantic eyes swept the room before they landed on a figure curled up in a ball in an armchair next to the bed. Bucky slumped back to the bed in shock. What . . . what were you doing here? 

His eyes traced over your face. There were dark bags under your eyes and tried tear tracks running down your cheeks. Something in him warms at the sight but he still doesn’t understand . . . 

Almost as though you can hear his muddled thoughts, your eyes flutter open. You glance around blearily, almost gaining your balance, before your eyes shoot back to his as you finally notice he’s awake. “Bucky!” You stumble out of your chair and nearly take a nosedive before you catch yourself. Bucky’s arms are already extending, one leg half out of the bed, but you ignore it all as you throw yourself at him and bury your face in his chest. “I thought you were dead.” You cried. 

Bucky is at a loss. He’s not sure what to do but thankfully, some half-formed memory from another lifetime flickers across his mind and he hesitantly wraps his arms around you and runs his flesh hand up and down your back in a soothing, if somewhat robotic motion. 

“I’m okay.” He says quietly. 

Your head shoots up then and you positively _glare_ at the man. Bucky’s jaw drops open in shock. He’s never seen you with a look of such vitriol before. “You were _dying_ James Buchanan Barnes.” You had to pause as your voice started shaking. “You almost died on me.” 

Bucky grimaces. “I’m sorry.” He murmurs, but he doesn’t mean it. He’d do it all again if it meant saving you. 

You huff as you pull back and cross your arms over your chest. You glare at your lap instead of looking at him and once again, Bucky’s at a loss. He glances around the room, desperately looking for something to draw your attention to instead. 

“What are you doin’ here anyway, doll?” He asks softly, his eyes traveling over your very wrinkled clothes and your messy hair. 

You close your eyes and your posture softens as you glance back up at him. There’s a blush starting to stain your cheeks as you whisper quietly; “I didn’t want you to be alone. I wanted someone who cared about you to be here when you woke up.” 

Bucky’s heart stops beating. 

You couldn’t be saying what he thought you were saying. It wasn’t possible. “You don’t have to . .” 

You glanced away and rubbed at your arms. “I want to.” You whispered. “I lo . . .” 

Bucky’s hand shot out and he clapped it against your lips before you could get the words out. His heart was quick to start back up again and raced into overdrive as panic took over him. “You can’t.” He hissed. “You can’t love me. I’m . . .” Pain flashed across his face and he glanced down. “I don’t deserve it, doll. You can do better than a broken, murderer of a man like me.” 

You sat there quietly for a moment before you reached up and pulled his hand off of your face. He steeled himself against the pain, expecting you to stand up and leave, but you didn’t do that. Instead, you tucked your fingers in the hand you’d just removed and reached out to cup the side of his face with your free one. You forced his chin up so you were looking into his eyes and he saw the same sort of brave fire in your eyes he’d seen the first day you’d set foot in the tower. “The funny thing about a man on trial is he doesn’t get to be his own judge, jury and executioner.” You said slowly, every word drilling into his soul in a way that he could not explain. “I’m staking my claim, Bucky Barnes. You’re my dark knight and I’m not ready for you to ride off into the sunset just yet.” 

Bucky managed a weak chuckle even as tears filled his eyes. “I think you’re mixing metaphors here, doll.” He said softly. 

You smiled at him and let go of his hand so you could cup the other side of his face too. You tilted his head down so you could lean your forehead against it and you smiled softly as your eyes drifted close. “I can do what I want I . . .” 

The vision took you quickly, as they always did. Your small, panicked inhale of air the only warning Bucky got before your body went rigid and your eyes flashed white. Bucky kept his steady hands wrapped around your arms, keeping you upright while he waited. Your visions were always a mixed bag. Sometimes they were good, most of the time they were bad. You never knew which until you snapped out of it. 

This one took longer than usual. Almost five minutes passed before you snapped back to reality, but when you did, a huge grin was plastered across your face. 

“What was it?” Bucky asked softly. “What did you see?” His hands reached up to brush against your cheeks, wiping at the tears that were starting to fall. 

You shook your head and smiled softly. “I think I’ll keep it to myself for now, _Mister_ Barnes.” 

Bucky shook his head as you burrowed into his side and leaned your head against his chest. He kept you gathered in his arms, close to his side where he could keep an eye on you. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head and let his eyes close, drifting off to the steady sound of healing heart. 

You drifted off too, with visions of white dresses and tiny smiles to lull you to sleep. 

The future was bright. Your dark knight would make sure of it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Wowzah. You're just hearing a lot from me today, huh? XD I'm finally starting to finish up the last of my requests. Hope you're enjoying all the extra posts. XD


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